Electrical apparatus including a bus conductor section

ABSTRACT

A terminal block assembly is provided for use in the electrical power supply and/or monitoring signal control bus section of an automated industrial, commercial or residential building, characterized by the provisions of a terminal block containing a first opening for receiving a printed circuit board, and a second opening for removably receiving a replaceable internal bus conductor unit. The bus conductor unit carries first conductors arranged on a thin insulating support plate for connection with the power supply bus and/or the signal voltage lines of the electrical monitoring and/or control system, and second conductors arranged on the support plate for connection with the circuits of the printed circuit board. Jumper connections are provided for connecting selected first and second conductors with each other.

SPECIFICATION FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] A terminal block assembly includes a terminal block containing afirst opening for receiving a printed circuit board, and a secondopening for removably receiving an internal bus connector unit. The busconnector unit comprises a thin flat support plate that carries firstconductor means arranged for connection with the power supply andmonitoring signal conductors of the distribution system, and secondconductor means arranged for connection with the electrical circuits onthe printed circuit board.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

[0003] Modular control systems for automated commercial, industrial, andresidential buildings are disclosed inthe prior patents to Eggert,etal., Pat. No. 5,615,079 and Glathe, et al., Pat. No. 5,722,862, bothassigned to the instant Applicant. The use of interconnecting terminalblock devises for such distribution systems is shown in the Zebermann,et al., Pat. No. 6,241,561, among others.

[0004] A bus conductor section for electrical equipment is known fromthe European patent No. EP 95 113 729 A2. The equipment, shown in thispublication as the internal bus conductor section, is made as acontinuous thin plate with strip conductors applied thereupon, In thisequipment, terminal blocks that can be lined up next to each other onsupporting rails are used for signal adaptation between a super-ordinatefield bus and initiators, field units or the like that are connected tothe connection blocks. The terminal blocks are made up of functionallydifferent connection or module discs, such as protective conductordiscs, feed discs, supply/signal conductor discs and catch foot discs.One or more connection blocks can be connected via the internal busconductor with a connection module for the field bus.

[0005] Another bus conductor section is known from the European patentNo. EP 00 100 303, wherein the bus conductor sections of the individualbase terminal carriers are made structurally separate from each other,each having a thin plate through which passes at least one row of metalpins which are aligned on one side of the thin plate generally normal tothe plate, and on the opposite side, essentially parallel to the thinplate, whereby the row of pins extending orthogonally relative to thethin plate is so dimensioned that its pin row ends can be used directlyfor contacting a socket terminal strip. The structural separation of thebus conductor sections of each module disc first of all offers theadvantage of an almost random ability to line up also the bus conductorsection with each other and thus enhances the versatility of the entiremodule system. Moreover, the chosen structural design of the busconductor section with a thin plate and with angle pins of speciallength passing through the thin plate will offer the advantage of beingable to omit the separate plug elements for contacting a separateequipment plug or an equipment plug molded upon an electronic printedcircuit board.

[0006] Although the solution offered in the aforementioned Europeanpatent No. EP 00 100 303 proved effective, there is nevertheless theneed for an optimization of the electrical equipment and its internalbus conductor for special cases of practical use in which a relativelylarge number of data and/or supply lines are provided in a very tightspace. The object of this invention is to solve this problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is toprovide a generally rectangular terminal block containing a firstopening for receiving a printed circuit board, and a second opening forremovably receiving a replaceable internal bus connector unit carryingfirst conductor means adapted for connection with the voltage supply andmonitoring and control signal lines of the system, and second conductormeans adapted for connection with the electrical circuits of the printedcircuit board.

[0008] According to a more specific object of the invention, theinternal bus connector unit includes a thin support plate that isremovably connected with the terminal block that carries the printedcircuit board, the terminal block, together with the printed circuitboard thereon, being transversely mounted on a support rail. Firstconductors on the thin support plate of one terminal block are adaptedfor connection with corresponding first conductors carried by aninternal bus connector unit on an adjacent terminal block assemblyarranged on the mounting rail.

[0009] According to another object of the invention, the first andsecond conductors carried by the thin support plate of the internal busconnector unit are arranged in superimposed rows of terminal strips,with the conductors being staggered to provide a large number of circuitconnections. According to another feature of the invention, the terminalstrips carrying the second conductors are vertically arranged inhorizontal rows. In one embodiment, it has been proposed to mount oneterminal strip row on the bottom edge of the printed circuit board.Thus, a large number of pins and conductors may be provided in anextremely simple manner, offering customer-tailored versatility(regarding the number of poles, shuntability, cross-connections, or thelike).

[0010] In this way, this solution can also do justice to the mostproblematical individual cases of practical use with a need for aplurality of bus conductor data lines. Furthermore, along with thesignal and supply line arrangement for the electronic printed circuitboards, one can also supply the field units via the internal busconductor. Compatibility to the module bus technique of theaforementioned European patent No. EP 00 100 303 can also be achievedhere.

[0011] It is also possible in a simple manner to combine in several rowsof connections various types of connections such as light transmittingconductor connections and metallic conductor with each other. Electronicmeans may be provided for the transmission of light on the printedcircuit board in this case.

[0012] The fact that the connections can be lined up in many rows alsomakes it possible to vary the contact sizes without any problems. Withthe help of different contact sizes, one can adapt the bus conductor inthis fashion without any problems to various current load capacityrequirements. The soldering connections can be made in any desiredfashion, for example, in a through-contacting manner and/or via the SMD[surface-mounted device] technology. One can also insert pole connectorsin place of the socket terminal strips and pin strips.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from a study of the following specification when viewed in thelight of the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0014]FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the terminal block assemblyof the present invention;

[0015]FIG. 2a is a front elevation view of the terminal block assemblyof FIG. 1, and FIG. 2b is a sectional view taken along line 2 b-2 b ofFIG. 1;

[0016]FIGS. 3 and 4 are front perspective views of the internal busconnector unit of the present invention;

[0017]FIGS. 5a-5 e are front elevation, left side, rear elevation, topand front perspective views of the internal bus connector unit,respectively; and

[0018]FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the printed circuit boardwith the internal bus connection unit connected thereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Referring first more particularly to FIG. 1, the terminal blockassembly includes a generally rectangular vertically arranged terminalblock 2 that is formed of a suitable electrically-insulating syntheticplastic material. The bottom edge portion 6 of the terminal blockcontains a recess 3 defined between the spaced catch feet 4 by means ofwhich a terminal block is transversely mounted on a mounting rail R, asis known in the art. In accordance with a characterizing feature of theinvention, the terminal block 2 contains an opening 8 for receiving aninternal bus conductor unit 10, as will be described in greater detailbelow. The upper portion of the terminal block contains a recess 12 thatreceives a vertically arranged printed circuit board 14 havingelectrical circuits thereon. The terminal bus conductor unit 10 includescontacts arranged for connection with the power supply conductors andthe monitoring and control signal voltages that are present in thesystem for automated control of a commercial, residential, or industrialinstallation. The circuit board 14 is provided with electronic circuitryfor processing and relaying the signals that are to be supplied to andfrom the printed circuit board. The bridge portion 26 of the terminalblock contains a groove 28 for receiving the housing of electronicequipment, not shown. The tenninal block 2 further includes, in additionto the bus conductor opening 8, a marking groove 54 for receiving one ortwo labels, openings 59 for receiving portions of the printed circuitboard 14, and openings 44 for receiving the stabilizing jacks of theprinted circuit board. A further recess 62 is provided for receivingcoding elements.

[0020] Referring now to FIGS. 2a and 2 b, the bus conductor opening 8receives the bus conductor unit 10 shown more particularly in FIGS. 5a-5e. The bus conductor connecting unit 10 includes a vertical supportplate 102 that comprises a suitable non-conductive plate formed ofinsulation material. On one side, the support plate 102 is provided witha male terminal strip 112 having rows of male contacts 104 a and 104 b.On its other side, the thin support plate 102 carries a female terminalstrip 110 which contains rows of female contacts 106 a and 106 b. Thesecontacts 104 a, 104 b, 106 a, and 106 b are arranged for connection inthe distribution bus portion of the system that carries the power supplyvoltages as well as the monitoring and control signal voltages of theautomated system. The front face of the support plate 102 also carries asecond set of conductors 108 a and 108 b that are associated withterminal strips 118 a and 118 b, which are mounted in side-by-siderelation as shown in FIG. 5b. The conductors 108 a and 108 b arevertically spaced to afford maximum number of contacts within a verylimited space.

[0021] Referring to FIG. 6, it will be seen that the terminal strips 118a and 118 b are adapted for connection with terminal strips 120 a and120 b, respectively, that are supported by the bottom edge of theprinted circuit board 14. The terminal strips are provided with two setsof conductors 122 a and 122 b that are connected with various circuitsof the printed circuit board, respectively. In order to effectconnection between the first conductors 104 a, 104 b and 106 a, 106 bwith the second set of conductors 108 a and 108 b, selected jumperconnections J₁ and J₂ are provided as desired. These jumper connectionsmay be provided on the internal bus connector unit 10 prior to assemblyof the unit with the terminal block 2, if desired.

[0022] It will be noted that the thin plate 102 is generally parallelwith the electronic printed circuit board of the connection module.Essentially, it is positioned in the plane of the electronic printedcircuit board 14 along the latter's main axis and directly adjoins theelectronic printed circuit board 14.

[0023] The connections of the internal bus conductor leading toneighboring module discs are formed by a double-row terminal strip 110and a double-row terminal strip 112 where, in case of adjoining baseterminal carriers 2, the terminal strip 112 engages the terminal strip110 of bus conductor section 10 of the particular neighboring baseterminal block 2. Pole connectors can also be put in to take the placeof socket terminal strips and pin strips.

[0024] This double-row arrangement can also be implemented by a singlepole connector if there is no need for any adjustment of single and/orsupply lines.

[0025] As one can furthermore see in FIG. 2b, thin plate 102 can beinserted in opening 8 of base terminal carrier 2, which opening can becovered by a cover member 114 which, in turn, contains an opening 116for the at least two superposed rows of connections to the neighboringmodule disc, together with a guide means 117 that engages acorresponding recess 119 of the adjacent terminal block mounted on themounting rail R.

[0026] A double-row terminal strip means 118 includes a pair oflaterally stacked terminal strips 118 a and 118 b. This double-rowterminal strip is used for contacting a likewise double-row terminalstrip 120 on electronic printed circuit board 14. This arrangementshould be construed in a purely exemplary manner and can also be done inreverse (i.e., by providing the terminal strip on thin plate 102).

[0027] If only seven contacts are needed to the electronic printedcircuit board 14, then one might also visualize a single-row-contactstrip, something that naturally is particularly cheap.

[0028] Furthermore, as an alternative, one can also provide one contactstrip on each side of the electronic printed circuit board 14.

[0029] According to a further alternative, connections 108 to relay thebus conductor signals and/or bus conductor supply voltages between theinternal bus conductor 10 and the printed circuit board 102 onlyrepresent contact surfaces as strip conductors along the edge of theelectronic printed circuit board 14 and are connected via a printedcircuit board edge connector on the electronic printed circuit board 14.

[0030] In case of a combination of a module disc with a terminal block,it is possible—at least in the area of the first module disc of themodule block—to connect a contact of the internal bus conductor in themanner of the first module disc and the additional module disco of theblock via a flat-positioned printed circuit board, for example, in themanner of German patent No. DE 44 38 801.

[0031] While in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Statutesthe preferred forms and embodiments of the invention have beenillustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that various changes may be made without deviating from theinventive concepts set forth above.

What is claimed is:
 1. A terminal block assembly adapted for use with anelectrical monitoring and control system including internal busconductor means for supplying signal voltages and power supply voltages,comprising: (a) a generally rectangular terminal block (2) formed ofinsulating material, said terminal block having a horizontallongitudinal axis and including a pair of vertical side walls, a pair ofvertical end walls, and horizontal top and bottom walls, (1) said bottomwall containing an opening (3) for receiving a transversely arrangedmounting rail (R); (2) said top wall containing a first opening (12) forreceiving the bottom edge portion of a printed circuit board (14)arranged above and parallel with said terminal block; (3) said terminalblock top wall containing a second opening (8) in communication withsaid first opening; and (b) a bus conductor unit (10) removably mountedwithin said second opening, said bus conductor unit including; (1) avertical thin support plate (102) removably mounted within said secondopening said support plate being formed from a non-conductive insulatingmaterial; (2) first conductor means (104 a; 106 a) mounted on saidsupport plate for connection with the internal bus conductor means ofthe power supply, monitoring, and control system; and (3) secondconductor means (108 a; 108 b) mounted on said plate for connection withthe circuit means of the printed circuit board.
 2. A terminal blockassembly as defined in claim 1, wherein said thin support plate isparallel with said terminal block.
 3. A terminal block assembly asdefined in claim 1, wherein said first and second conductor meansinclude parallel vertical portions that extend parallel with said platein laterally offset relation to each other.
 4. A terminal block assemblyas defined in claim 1, wherein said thin support plate is coplanar andin contiguous edge-to-edge engagement with the printed circuit board. 5.A terminal block assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein said firstconductor means includes a plurality of male contacts (104 a, 104 b)extending orthogonally from one side of said thin support plate, and aplurality of corresponding female contacts (106 a, 106 b) extendingorthogonally from the other side of said thin support plate, the malecontact of one of said bus conductor units being arranged for electricalengagement with the corresponding female contact of an adjacent busconductor unit.
 6. A terminal block assembly as defmed in claim 1, andfurther including a cover member (114) connected with said terminalblock to cover said second opening, said cover member containing athrough bore (116) affording access to the associated first conductorcontacts (104 a, 104 b).
 7. A terminal block assembly as defmed in claim6, wherein said through bore contains male guide means (117) arrangedfor cooperation with a corresponding guide recess (119) contained in theadjacent face of an adjacent terminal block mounted on the mountingrail.
 8. A terminal block assembly as defined in claim 1, and furtherincluding: (c) a vertical printed circuit board (14) mounted in saidfirst opening, said printed circuit board having a lower edge portion;and (d) third conductor means (112 a; 112 b) mounted on said printedcircuit board lower edge for connection with said second conductormeans.
 9. A terminal block assembly as defmed in claim 8, and firtherincluding aplurality of terminal strip means (110; 112; 118; 120)carrying said first, second and third conductor means, respectively. 10.A terminal block assembly as defined in claim 9, wherein at least someof said terminal strip means include a pair of laterally stackedterminal strips (118 a, 118 b; 120 a, 120 b) arranged in parallelrelation relative to said thin support plate, and a plurality ofcontacts extending in staggered relation from said terminal strip means.11. A terminal block assembly as defined in claim 1, wherein some ofsaid first and second conductor means include light-transmitting opticalelements.